What the federation undertakes, and what is asked of a traveller
These conditions are adopted by the federation assembly and bind every member cooperative. They set out no fare, no penalty and no contract of sale, since travel is essential provision under Article 62 and free at the point of use under Article 69(2). They set out what is provided, the margin the timetable is measured against, and what happens when the railway fails to provide it.
Punctuality
| Case | Threshold | What follows |
|---|---|---|
| On time | −3 to +10 min | Counted as provided. The margin is the same on a one-hour run and an eleven-hour one. |
| Late | over 10 min | Recorded against the route group and published in its monthly figures. |
| Late at night | over 30 min | The connecting service is held, or the group arranges another way onward at its own cost. |
| Cancelled | - | The group states the reason on the board, in the application and to the assembly, and arranges the next ride. |
| Repeatedly late | 3 months | The route enters the yearly review under Article 101, and the federation states whether the fault lay with the plan or with the management, as Article 103 requires. |
No compensation is paid, because nothing was paid. What a delay produces instead is a published figure, a reason on the record, and an answer at the assembly of the cooperative that runs the line, where riders sit under Article 85(5).
What is required to travel
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Inside a town
Nothing. Urban and local transport stations have no gates anywhere in the Republic. A card or ticket is not required.
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Between towns
A Universal Bloc Transport Card or a Universal Ticket, presented at the gate on the intercity platform. Both are issued without charge at any counter and any machine.
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Aboard the train
Nothing is inspected. There are no controllers and no one will be asked to present their card or ticket at the train.
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Without either
A person who reaches the platform without a card or a ticket can travel, but demand for the journey will not be recorded. A station worker will issue a card afterwards.
Aboard
| Matter | Rule |
|---|---|
| Luggage | It may be anything a person can lift and manage alone, in the rack or the vestibule. |
| Bicycles | In the vestibule of any train, without reservation. On the sleeper services, at the last car. |
| Animals | Assistance dogs anywhere. Other animals in the vestibule or on a lap, under control, and out of the sleeper rooms other people share. |
| Alcohol | Permitted. A person whose drinking makes the carriage unusable for others is asked to move or to leave at the next station. |
| Smoking | Nowhere aboard, and not on a covered platform. |
| Sound | Headphones after 21:00 in the sleeper cars or in the quiet bay of the R7 and R9. Elsewhere, whatever quiet zone the carriage may happen to have. |
| Seats | Every carriage has the same seat layout. Priority seats near the doors go to whoever needs them. |
| Lost property | Held at the station of the route group for ninety days, then given to the commune. Enquiries by 118 or at any counter. |
When something goes wrong
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Report it
Through the application, a machine, a station worker, or 118. The report reaches the route group that operates the line, and the group answers within two working days.
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Read the answer beside the report
Reports and answers are published together under Article 61(2). What was found and what was done will appear in the same document.
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Take it to the assembly
Users of the service sit in the assembly of the cooperative under Article 85(5), with the right to be heard and to place items on the agenda. A timetable is changed there and nowhere else.
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Or to the federation
Where a route group answers badly or not at all, the federation takes it under its support procedure and publishes what it finds. Where the fault lay with the plan, Article 103 requires the federation to say so.